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You can say what you want about Tomlin, but up to this point in his career he has given no indication that he would do anything other than play by the rules to win a game. He got caught in the moment and forgot where he was at on the field. I'm certain he's embarrassed about the play.

im still trying to see in that clip where he was looking up at the jumbotron to watch the return as many supporters are saying he was doing. looks to me that he was looking over his shoulder waiting til the last moment to make his move

You can say what you want about Tomlin, but up to this point in his career he has given no indication that he would do anything other than play by the rules to win a game. He got caught in the moment and forgot where he was at on the field. I'm certain he's embarrassed about the play.

When Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was explaining why he was standing with a foot on the field of play until just before Ravens kick returner Jacoby Jones was on top of him during a long kick return on Thursday night, he said that he lost his placement on the field because he was watching the play on the Jumbotron.

Tomlin said it was something he does “quite often like everyone else in the National Football League.” Patriots coach Bill Belichick lent some support to Tomlin’s assertion on Friday when he recounted a story about being “blown up” while not paying attention to what’s happening on the field. Belichick, who has found other ways of making his presence felt on the sideline as well, said he wound up under the Gatorade table after a player ran into him and that it was easy to put himself in Tomlin’s shoes.

“Obviously we have to give the officials and the players room to play,” Belichick said in comments distributed by the team. “Sometimes that just happens where you get guys caught up a little bit on the sideline. But yeah, I saw the play last night. I was like, ‘Oh my God, yeah.’ That could easily happen to any of us. It’s a good lesson, I have to be careful.”

So do the officials. Whether Tomlin was engaging in gamesmanship or not , he was standing in a part of the field where he was not permitted to be while a play was going on and that should have been a penalty even if every other coach does it on every snap in every game. Referee Clete Blakeman’s crew decided to ignore that part of the rulebook with no explanation about why Tomlin wasn’t penalized for something that several other teams have been flagged for this season.

That’s nothing new for Blakeman (nor is blatantly missing a call) but it would be nice to see the league be a bit more forthcoming in the coming days.

I dont understand what all the fuss is about, it had NO impact on the play, it is just something for people to make more out of it than it really is. There are so many coaches who get caught on the field at the wrong time, I know I am one of them. If he is watching the jumbotron then you may not put 2 and 2 together until its late, like he did. To me people who want to make more out of it than it is are just looking for reasons to build on their dislike of Tomlin. If the NFL fines him then they better start fining all the coaches who wonder on the field past the numbers, because that is suppose to be a penalty and it is never flagged, just like he was not flagged last night. IMO

Report: League investigating Tomlin, and could issue fine for stepping on the field

By Neal Coolong on Nov 29 2013

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin says he didn't do it intentionally, but the fact he's on the field during a punt return, and nearly came into contact with the return man, is being evaluated by the NFL, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

ESPN reporter Adam Schefter cited sources within the league who are saying Steelers coach Mike Tomlin's actions in Pittsburgh's 22-20 loss to Baltimore could be subject to a fine.

Tomlin was looking away from the play, presumably at the JumboTron at M&T Bank Stadium as Jacoby Jones broke a kick return up the left sideline. Tomlin was standing with one foot on the playing field, looking away from it. As Jones approached, Tomlin reacted, and moved suddenly back toward the sideline, but not before Jones moved back inside. He slowed down a little, and that may have been enough of a hesitation to allow cornerback Cortez Allen to make the tackle.

Tomlin accepted responsibility for it, saying he usually watches returns on the video screen as a means to get a better perspective of it. He claims he did not intentionally move on the field.

The film supports Tomlin's side of it, but that likely won't change the fact he was on the field, and at the very least could have interfered with the return.

That should mean Tomlin can expect a fine from the league.

Along with that, it's likely all coaches will be put on notice to stand back away from the field. Coaches standing on the edge of the white sideline chalk is not something exclusive only to Tomlin, and while a fine seems justified in this case, the larger point here should be to enforce the sideline policy, something that is probably done once a game throughout the league.

It will likely live in lore over the best rivalry in football - Tomlin will become the first coach to receive a fine during a Steelers/Ravens game.